Confiscated Cell Phone

If you have recently been asked to hand your phone over to an officer, you may be worried about how they can use this confiscated cell phone for evidence.

Confiscated Cell Phone | Police Encounter

As an experienced New Jersey Criminal Defense Attorney, I have been asked by college students if the police are allowed to take their cell phones and use it as evidence. Let’s say you go to Saint Peter’s University in New Jersey, and there’s an allegation that you were involved in some type of offense, or a crime, or maybe even your phone got lost on an evening, and it winds up that the police have your phone. You get notified by the police, and they say, “Come down and pick up your phone.” You go down there, and they say, “We’d like to take a look at your phone. We’d like to look at the contents of your phone.”

Confiscated Cell Phone | Court Order

I would not allow them to do that without a court order, without a warrant, and I would not give them consent no matter what is or isn’t on your phone. Without probable cause, they’re not going to get the warrant. They may say to you, “We’re going to hold onto this phone. We’re going to try to get the warrant. You’re not going to get it back for six days or seven days.” You have certain options with regard to that. Again, if you have nothing to hide, I suppose you can allow them to consent to look at your phone, but if you want to maintain your privacy, you don’t have to give them consent.

If you have had a confiscated cell phone taken by the police, please call our New Jersey criminal defense attorney as soon as possible for a free consultation.

Author: Carl Spector

New Jersey DUI Lawyer Carl Spector worked as an attorney in the Bronx County District Attorney’s office as an Assistant District Attorney for six years. This experience has allowed him to effectively and aggressively defend clients charged with all varieties of crimes and DWI / DUI.
For the past 30 years, New Jersey DUI Lawyer Carl Spector has been representing over 10,000 people that have been charged with crimes throughout New York and New Jersey, including Bergen County, Essex County, Hudson County, Passaic County, Morris County, and Union County. Carl Spector has served as an attorney in countless criminal and DWI / DUI matters with full control of initial investigations, trial planning, motions, discovery, legal research and courtroom appearances and trials.
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